Art and collectables insurance

John Lewis Contents Insurance covers single items up to the value of £3,000 against loss, theft and damage.

For more valuable pieces of art, we offer John Lewis Specialist Home Insurance.

Artwork in the home is generally covered by your home insurance contents policy. When choosing your policy, it’s worth considering how much cover you think you need. 

Our cover levels will pay towards the total cost of valuables in the home up to the following amounts:

•  Our Bronze cover will pay up to £10,000

•  Our Silver cover will pay up to £20,000

•  Our Gold cover will pay up to £40,000

If the total value of your items is more than £40,000, our Specialist Home Insurance provides extra coverage.

This covers the cost of restoring lost or damaged items and any residual depreciation too. And if your artwork is lost or damaged within 6 months of the artist's death, we will pay for any increase in value as a result of their death (up to 200% of the sum insured).

Learn more about John Lewis Home Insurance

A professional valuation will help you insure your art collection for an accurate price. 

If you’ve overestimated the value of your collection, you may be paying for more than you need. And if you’ve underestimated, you may not receive the correct payout if you need to make a claim.

To get your art or antique collection valued by a professional, we recommend you:

•  Find the most suitable professional for the job

•  Ask for a valuation report

•  If you’re unhappy with the valuation ask for a second or third opinion 

•  Contact your insurance provider with your valuation report to hand

Some tips for getting specific items valued:

•  For conventional pieces of art and antiques, try auction houses and specialist dealers.

•  For a coin collection, try the Royal Mint. 

•  If your collectables are a bit more out of the ordinary, you might need an expert enthusiast. 

   

Get regular valuations every 2-3 years or when changing insurance providers. This will ensure you are covered at an up-to-date price. If the value of an item changes, let your insurance provider know - you might have to upgrade your level of cover.

There are a few things to consider when choosing your level of cover:

1. What’s the single article limit for individual pieces of art and collectables?

This is the maximum amount an insurance provider will pay out for an individual item. Some sets of vases or a series of collectable figures might be treated as a single article, for example.

2. What’s the maximum payout for all of your art and collectables?

It depends on your level of cover. Remember to check that the maximum limit covers any purchases you’re planning in the near future.

Our Bronze, Silver and Gold cover levels protect unspecified art and collectables costing up to £3,000.

If your collection includes more expensive pieces, you might want to consider our Specialist Cover. This has bespoke total limits and any single item limits can also be discussed with our expert underwriters.

Learn more about our Specialist Home Insurance

Our Specialist Cover protects your art and collectables anywhere in the world. 

If you have a Gold, Silver or Bronze policy, your artwork will need to remain in your home in order for it to be covered.

If you’re moving house, you might need our separate Accidental Damage add-on too.

You may have children regularly playing near your favourite pieces, or perhaps you’ve never quite hung that frame out of arm's reach. If so, accidental damage cover can offer you peace of mind.

Find out more about our accidental damage add-on

We always ask for a few details about you and your home. Any other information we need will depend on your level of cover.

For our Bronze, Silver and Gold policies, we’ll ask for:

• Professional valuations for items less than five years old

• Original purchase receipts for any specified art and collectables valued at £5,000 or more

For our Specialist Home Insurance, we’ll ask for:

• Professional valuations every five years for individual art and collectables worth £25,000 or more

   

If you provide photographs of the items in your collection we can process your claim quicker. Remember to update us about new purchases or additions to your collection that could increase the overall value. We may suggest you upgrade your level of cover.